2002 Buick Regal LS Issues (after repairs)

[Sam08]

I have had the following done to my car:

3/21/2008

$3,700.00

Purchased 2002 Buick Regal LS with approximately 109,000 miles

3/22/2008

$12.99

Air Filter

3/22/2008

$115.00

Transmission Flush, Filter, Fluid

3/22/2008

$14.99

Smart Blend Transmission Additive

3/22/2008

$25.99

Oil Change

4/4/2008

$59.98

Rotors

4/4/2008

$39.95

Brake Pads

4/4/2008

$30.00

Labor R&R Front Brakes

4/4/2008

$15.99

Thermostat

4/4/2008

$6.99

Gasket

4/4/2008

$48.00

Labor R&R Thermostat & Gasket

4/4/2008

$8.99

Axle Seal

4/4/2008

$8.99

Axle Seal

4/4/2008

$60.00

Labor R&R Axle Seals

4/4/2008

$68.99

Oil Pan Gasket

4/4/2008

$276.00

Labor R&R Oil Pan Gasket

4/4/2008

$351.99

Fuel Pump

4/4/2008

$60.00

Labor R&R Fuel Pump

4/4/2008

$31.99

Inner Tie Rod

4/4/2008

$90.00

Labor R&R Inner Tie Rod

4/4/2008

$17.99

Fuel Filter

4/4/2008

$5.99

Oil Filter

4/4/2008

$11.21

5W30 Oil

4/4/2008

$24.99

Horn

4/4/2008

$5.00

Labor R&R Horn

4/9/2008

$16.00

Balance and Rotate all 4 tires

4/12/2008

$171.59

Upper Intake Manifold

4/12/2008

$194.40

Labor R&R Upper Intake Manifold

4/12/2008

$19.78

Upper Radiator Hose

4/12/2008

$25.18

Lower Radiator Hose

4/12/2008

$41.38

Belt

4/12/2008

$12.00

Labor R&R Upper & Lower Radiator Hoses & Belts

4/12/2008

$39.95

Radiator Fluid Flush

* After service on 4/4/2008 I noticed that the coolant temperature gauge was going just slightly past the halfway point with normal non-expressway driving. I notified Action Auto via phone that this was occurring, their reply was that the gauge may see this as the normal operating temperature. I also felt that the linkage in the front of the car felt loose. Out of concern I took the car back in on 4/08/2008, they stated that the tires had a flat spot on them and that they balanced and rotated the tires and that eventually the flat spots will wear out, that this might have been caused by someone braking suddenly.

* After service on 4/4/2008 I noticed that the coolant temperature gauge was going just slightly past the halfway point with normal non-expressway driving. I notified the repair shop via phone that this was occurring, their reply was that the gauge may see this as the normal operating temperature. I also felt that the linkage in the front of the car felt loose. Out of concern I took the car back in on 4/08/2008, they stated that the tires had a flat spot on them and that they balanced and rotated the tires and that eventually the flat spots will wear out, that this might have been caused by someone braking suddenly.

** On 4/11/2008 I was driving home on the interstate when I noticed the temperature gauge going almost into the red, at this point the low coolant light appeared. I exited off the expressway, pulled into a strip mall and called the repair shop. They requested that I bring the car right in, I informed them that I didn't want to drive it any further in fear that by driving I might cause damage to the engine. They told me to turn the heat on high and to get some water to place into the radiator and that it should be alright for the distance from where I was to their repair shop. I phoned a towing company, they requested $75.00, I was able to cautiously drive the car to the repair shop.

*** On 4/12/2008 the Service Engine Soon light is still on (notified the repair shop about this on several occassions), the Low Coolant light comes on and goes off, and also the Service Vehicle Soon, Anti-Lock and the TRAC OFF lights come on and stay on.

Everytime I take the car in for repairs, not more than a few days later or so something else goes wrong with the car. I'm thinking that it's not normal for the coolant temperature gauge to read beyond the half point (just normal driving, no express driving). Also, just after the thermostat change the upper intake manifold went (causing white smoke out the tailpipe and draining the coolant level).

Am I being taken for a ride from the repair shop? Front brake job then not more than a week or two later the Service Vehicle Soon, Anti-lock, and TRAC-OFF lights come on and stay on. I'm going to be in contact with the media this week, they thrive on repair shop rip-offs! I'll let them look under the hood and see exactly what might have or might not have been replaced.

Please, some input would help. I know that I purchased the car used but come on, after purchasing the car I drove it home (took a total of 1 1/2 hours to drive home from place of purchase). This drive didn't have any affect on the car, no service lights, no overheating, no problems.

Thank you,
Sam

[inafogg]

wow!!thats alot of repairs/$$$$.it sounds like you have air trapped in cooling system.not uncommon but the repair shop should no this.how does front end feel after rotating tires??

[Sam08]

The front end really doesn't feel any different after they balanced and rotated the tires. I just find it strange that shortly after replacing my thermostat the upper intake manifold would suddenly go out. Also after having a front brake job the Service Vehicle Soon, Anti-Lock and TRAC OFF lights are coming on and staying on. I realize that with a used car comes the repair bill but my car's been in the shop longer than I've had it on the road, no joke.

[Sam08]

I'm thinking about changing the spark plugs and wires myself. What else is involved in a tune-up besides the plugs, wires, air filter, and gas filter? Also, how easy/hard is it to get to the plugs? I do my best work on a computer but if the plugs aren't too hard to get to I could find my way under the hood. What would be the best plugs and wires to purchase for my 2002 Buick Regal LS 3.8L (not supercharged)?

[Will Help]

I have heard of idiots putting thermostrats in backwards also. Overheating could cause premature gasket failure. Could also have been had air cavitation from not being bled properly. Intake gasket leak is not all that uncommon. GM has always had issues with them. Flushing the cooling system could have taken the gaskets over the edge also.

Working with the brakes and the axle seals could create an issue with the anti-lock and traction controls. There are speed sensors, attached to the hub areas, that read off the turning axle assemblies at the rotors. The speed sensor tells the computer traction control if the wheels are spinning at different speeds and also tell the ABS system if all wheels are brakeing properly. If one of these sensors is damaged, loose or mis-located, they will send an error code ( usually for the speed sensor ) and also set off the ABS and TC warning lights. This could have happend during the brake service you received.

Rotating tires due to flat spotting is almost rediculous. The flat spots will cause the tire to bounce and wear uneven wherever it is on the car. You cannot balance out flat spotting.

It is lucky you didn't blow the head gaskets or warp the heads driving it over heated.

Let me know what comes out of this!!

[BNaylor]

That is some laundry list.

I don't know about any of the mechanics taking you for a ride but it sounds like Action Auto did. 2002 LS with 109K miles at $3700? You should have walked away on this deal. And now you are paying the price. Sounds like they sold you a lemon.

Work the problems out one at a time and maybe you will be able to recover from the deal. That is a bunch of baloney on the bad tires.

On the temperature gauge (slightly above center) that could be normal because the two cooling fans will not turn on until engine operating temperature is around 220 degrees. What does the gauge read with the air conditioner on? With A/C on both fans should turn on in low speed and the temperature should stabilize and remain at the thermostat regulating temperature (195 degrees) which will indicate slightly below the center line on the temp gauge.

[Sam08]

What would be the best course of action here? I cannot afford the cost of taking my car in for service because it needs repair from the last repair job. Getting to the thermostat is easy, same as the upper intake manifold. Do I have someone with a cam-corder recording my taking out the thermostat and seeing if it was installed wrong or not installed at all?

With the economy being what it is I wanted to stay away from the new car payments so I chose to purchase used. How was I to know that I "might" be robbed at wrench point for "unneeded" service after service after service....

I'm in the National Guard and need this car to be dependable, we get called up at times and not having a dependable car isn't an excuse for a no-show.

[BNaylor]

To start you have to carefully and thoroughly check out any used auto regardless of your circumstances. What appears to be a good deal may not be the case. Now having said that just tackle each problem systematically following any advice you get from this forum. Check into the reasonable and priority issues and any action suggested by the membership and reply to the responses as you go along. Plenty of expertise on AF to help you resolve most of your issues.

[Will Help]

Plugs and wires are fairly simple to replace. Do one at a time if you are uncomfortable with possibly mislocating the wires. There are no distributor parts to replace.

Every mechanic has his favorite plugs and wires. Do buy platinum plugs, Autolite or AC Delco are good. Do buy top of the line wires. They are less likely to misfire in wet conditions. You will probably never have to change them again. I prefer Bosch or Sorenson. Be sure to use wire boot silicone to seal out moisture.

[inafogg]

OK SAM,if you want to try n fix some things yourself.make a list ppl here are very helpful & can/will take you through it.1 AT A TIME
BTW,have you considered the BBB??maybe your not the only one GOOD LUCK & KEEP US INFORMED!!!

[Sam08]

Thank you all for your help. I have had the anti-freeze flushed and filled, not knowing if the thermostat had been replaced I just replaced it myself. The thermostat that I removed looked a lot older than just a few weeks. Well, I took the car for a test drive, the engine was already somewhat warm. The temperature gauge is still going to the half-way point, earlier today it went beyond the 3/4 mark, on it's way to the red. Afraid of the car overheating I drove in 77 degree weather with the heat turned on to 90 degrees and on full. The radiator fan is running on the car (needed to check that for peace of mind), not sure what else to check, any suggestions? Thanks...

[Will Help]

Have you checked to see if the fins in the radiator and a/c cooler are clean and not damaged. A/C fins are fragile and can be folded over just by being hit by bugs. You can purchase an a/c fin straightener comb at hardware stores and some auto parts. Radiator fins can get deeply embeded dirt where the fans pull air in and reduce air flow.

[Sam08]

Haven't tried that yet. Wanted to add that the upper and lower radiator hoses were replaced a few days ago. Also the upper intake manifold was replaced this past week or so (I believe that the last overheating caused damage to the upper intake manifold, thus the need for replacement).

I'm at a lose here guys, if it's not the fins in the radiator then I don't know what it is.

[Sam08]

I have just changed the front 3 plugs and wires, went with the more expensive Bosch series. The wires in the back of the motor are a bear to get to, I can't seem to remove them (they're original equipment). I'll be taking it to a garage on Monday, not much weekend driving fortunately. Anyone know where the coolant temperature sensor is located on this car? Thanks....

[sjonesy2]

hello, i have a similar vehicle, a 2001 regal ls 3.8L 136k, i do have one of the same probelms you listed, my service vehicle, abs, and trac off lights do come on periodically (2 times while driving 30 miles which it did sunday) but i can shut off the car and turn it back on and it will stop. have not got it fixed yet but have been told i have a bad hub assembly and have read various places that this could very well be the problem, i have not replaced it yet but intend to do so soon. it has gotten progressively worse as time has gone on. if you all have any info to help me with to diagnose exactly what my problem is and which side if this is the problem, id be glad to take it also.

on my 2001, the temp gage does not go over halfway, so id say it would be similar on yours.

my low coolant light came on and filled it back up, a couple weeks later it was on again and filled it up again intending on looking at it that weekend. well it was back on the next morning. wife drives it home, and brother-in-law looks at it and notices that there is a lot of coolant leaking out of the heater hose. we replace it and go ahead and flush radiator at the same time. we also bleed it. and low coolant light still some on. i kept an eye on the coolant level and realized that it went off after driving it a little while (around 30 miles if i remember). and that the amount of time it took for it to go off seemed to lessen every time it was drove (it gets drove about 450 miles a week). it eventually got to the point to where you could start it to let it warm up (on colder days in ky) and it would be off by the time you get back out there to drive it. and now it doesent come on at all. so im not worried about it. dont know if that helps you at all but figured id add it.

i hope you dont have any problems with your spark plugs, but i went with what i was told was the middle grade plug which is my normal strategy, ( i believe it was the bosch platinum +2) and did that the begining of 07. well, by october i was getting a check engine light and it was a missfire in cylinder 1. was told it was probably my spark plug so i replaced it myself and it was bad again in a few days. was then told to go with the iridium tipped (which is oe) and did so and have not had a problem since. although i did also have to replace the cylinder one coil. when i got all the old spark plugs back i looked at all the tips and every one of them was nearly completly burnt. the best one was bad at best. because of that i was told anyway, my cadilitac converter stopped up, it got hot and burnt a vacum line, and did something to my egr valve, and burnt my o2 sensors. i replaced my caddy converter, vacum hose, and one of the 2 o2 sensors, and have just been content driving with the check engine light on sense then. the codes it now gives is an insufficent egr flow, and i dont remember what the other code is right now (can find out if i need to, although it probably wont help you out much). but i hope that was just me and has nothing to do with you.

the main thing i wanted to post about was the spark plugs. i hope you dont run into that though. if there is any other info that i can give you from my regal let me know.